Category Archives: Innovation

Creativity Inc.: what it takes to build and sustain a culture of excellence

in Creativity, Greatness, Innovation, Leadership

I just finished reading the book Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull, this is my review…

Unlike books written by consultants about how wonderful the companies they study are, and how they have reverse engineered their formula for success into repeatable soundbites, Creativity Inc. was written by someone who was in the trenches; from the beginning. Written by Ed Catmull, co-founder and President of Pixar, Creativity Inc. is a first hand tell-all about what enables Pixar to do its thing: successfully turn original ideas into blockbusters, one after another.

Mr. Catmull’s motivation for writing this book stemmed from a simple question: why do successful companies fail? …

What are the key ingredients necessary to accelerate innovation in any environment?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions

In any environment, what are the key ingredients necessary to accelerate innovation?

MIT’s Andy Pentland says the best decision-making environment for good ideas to spread is one with high levels of both “engagement” and “exploration.

Via the NY Times:

The best decision-making environment, Mr. Pentland says, is one with high levels of both “engagement” and “exploration.” Engagement is a measure of how often people in a group communicate with each other, sharing social knowledge. Exploration is a measure of seeking out new ideas and new people.

…

New doesn’t equal innovation

in Innovation
misunderstanding innovation

Misunderstanding innovation

Just because something is new doesn’t mean it should be touted as an innovation.

What’s an innovation and what isn’t?

Normally, people believe that just because they’ve never seen or heard about something that it’s new, and therefore innovative. In their heads, because it’s new, it also means that it will succeed. Of course, it doesn’t work out that way. It is this type of misunderstanding, and others such as innovation only being about technology, that creates all types of headaches for those of us who help others innovate…

Innovation is a buzzword, but to some of us who use the word know that it holds value. We can tell you what is and isn’t an innovation. More than anything, we can tell you what isn’t: a new color, a change in your fonts, a new flavor, more horsepower, more processor speed, bigger screen, more pixels, etc.

Last year there was article on the WSJ where the parent company of Pop-Tarts laid claim that they had innovated because they had created a new flavor of Pop-Tarts. And now, Domino’s Pizza claims that one of its new products is innovative: breaded chicken crust.

These are examples of something new being mistaken for an innovation…

So, how do we distinguish new from innovation?…

Failure isn’t the goal, it is a means for innovation

in Innovation

innovation at google x

Last week I wrote about how you can ask yourself one question to innovate how you innovate: What can we learn from ___company___ about __challenge__?

I then posted some ideas from Amazon and Google that help them drive innovation, which you can use for inspiration. Well, here’s another idea you can use to get you thinking, and it may sound like a cliche but it is really the principle that sets any innovative company apart from non-innovative ones: reward failure.…

Jeff Bezos: Failure can’t be separated from invention

in Innovation
Jeff Bezos - Caricature

Jeff Bezos – Caricature (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

How do you maximize people’s potential to drive innovation? As Bob Ross says, “We don’t make mistakes, only happy accidents”. So, let employees make happy accidents.

This is what happens at the world’s most innovative companies, one of which is Amazon.

There are many lessons we can learn from Jeff Bezos about maximizing people’s potential to drive innovation. For example, in his annual shareholder letter, Jeff Bezos closes the letter with some final tips on what lets the company continue to lead. One is that invention comes from everybody, not just senior leaders. A lot of those ideas are going to fail. That’s not a bad thing:…

Which is more valuable, good ideas or good people?

in Innovation, Question-To-Innovate, Questions

Which is more valuable, good ideas or good people?

The answer is obvious, right? Well, not so. Some think that ideas matter more because you can snap them out of thin air. Which is why I think most people guard their ideas. They think they are unique on their own…

That isn’t true. Ideas matter, but execution is where the rubber meets the road. You need both.

With that said, the answer is obvious: Ideas come from people. Therefore, people are more important than ideas.

Bottom line: Getting the team right is the necessary precursor to getting the ideas right. But, getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea. This is easier said than done.